Spartans Never Die
by aceofSpades44
Summary: Pyrrha Nikos is supposed to be dead. She isn't, somehow, and now she finds herself on a world wholly alien to the one she knew with a new humanity to match. But this world is staring down the barrel of a gun. The Covenant have their sights on Reach, and a confused Pyrrha is standing in their way.
1. Awakening at Visegrad

_The Following is a fan written story._

 _RWBY and its properties are owned by Rooster Teeth._

 _Halo and its properties are owned by Bungie, 343 Industries and Microsoft Corporation_

 _Please support the official release._

* * *

She'd been lauded as one of the strongest and most skilled fighters in Beacon, the one to break the record for the most times someone has won the Mistral Regional Tournament. Four times in a row to be exact. She'd had the nickname of "The Invincible Girl", one that had been hard won.

It was also unfortunately inaccurate. She should have expected as much of course, there's always a bigger fish in the pond after all. Pyrrha had met that bigger fish. She'd faced the enemy in combat alone, determined to protect her friends and her home at Beacon. She'd paid the price for trying to do so. Cinder's arrow had felt like a hot spike to the heart. Her chest had seized, unable to breathe, unable to move, unable to even cry out in pain.

But all that had paled in comparison to the cold shot to the soul that had been Ruby's arrival. To see the young girl clad in red arrive just too late to make a difference. To watch the leader of Team RWBY's face go from determined to shocked and then horrified at the sight before her.

 _Was it worth it?_

She remembered a momentary flash of light before her senses dulled and faded away, leaving her suspended in an inky black void of nothing. No sights, no sounds, no sensations, just nothing. It was eerie…correction, it was scary. This was all that awaited those whose lives ended?

There she remained, alone, through a frame of time she could not begin to estimate. To think that this blackness was all that awaited those in the afterlife. She didn't try to call out, even if there was sound here, she doubted that she had a mouth to speak through anymore. One with the void, the cold, dark, empty void.

Wait. Cold? She felt cold. Why did she feel cold? She hadn't felt cold a few seconds ago. What had changed? She could feel other things, a slight breeze on the exposed skin of her arms, the slight stiffness of her limbs. Limbs. She had limbs again. Or maybe she never lost them?

She began to hear noises again as her hearing returned. The rustling of tree leaves from up above. Or was it rustling grass in the distance? There was what sounded like the hoot of an owl, but it was lower and more drawn out, like it was the call of an animal much larger than your common owl.

She could smell the cool night air that smelled light and fresh compared to the choking ash tainted scent of Vale not long before. She could taste the dryness of her lips as she began to wonder how much time had passed to make her so thirsty.

She soon managed to pull her eyes open and tried to blink away the blurriness that clouded her vision, managing to make out the sky through a break in the trees above her. The cloud cover was thick, only breaking a few times to allow the twinkling of starlight to shine through, the darkness of space beyond being tinged a slight blue with the early morning sun casting its rays into the upper atmosphere.

What was truly striking however was the celestial bodies she found familiar. Or rather, the lack thereof.

The moon was whole, a single round greyish-white sphere floating in the dark and looking just a little bit too big. How had the moon reformed? Was it even the same moon? The only thing more perplexing then that was the giant object, much of which was cast in darkness only revealed when the light of the sun glinted of on side of its surface. A giant body, green-blue in color, surrounded by a planetary ring system that went from dull green to glowing bright blue against the light. The silent titan dwarfing the moon as they sat as neighbors in the sky.

Her breath hitched in her throat. This had to be a mistake. This couldn't be real! The moon was shattered! And since when had a planet that large been visible from Remnant's surface?

Then she remembered. _The arrow!_ She should be dead! Her hands immediately went to her chest, trying to find the wound that was surely left behind. But it wasn't there, either the wound or the arrow that caused it. She was unharmed. Had it all been a dream? Then how could she explain the sky?

She gave herself a quick once over. Someone had taken her armored boots and gloves, leaving her barefoot with her arms and legs exposed. Her circlet was still on her head though. The injury to her ankle was similarly absent even though she was certain she'd been hit there. Milo and Akouo we missing, though granted she'd lost both in combat earlier.

Pyrrha needed to know what happened and moved to get up off the rocky ground that had served as her bed for who knows how long. A quick look around her revealed that she was surrounded by forest which seemed to clear off a bit to the right. And so the Huntress began to walk towards the slight clearing, hoping to find some kind of direction towards either shelter or civilization.

What she got instead was a cliff. Granted her slow pace made it easy to see the edge coming despite the dark of night, and it revealed to her a spectacular view of the surrounding landscape. A large grassy lowland stretched out below, cut in two by a river that flowed along at a leisurely pace set against a backdrop of mountain peaks rising up beyond towards the sky.

The wind picked up suddenly, forcing Pyrrha to squint against the cold gust as it swept up from the valley below. It had suddenly gotten much colder now that she was outside the protection of the trees and missing half her outfit, telling her that she needed to find shelter soon. She scanned left and was greeted by the sight of what she was standing on. Another mountain peak stretched into the heavens, the grassy fields on the tops of rocky outcrops providing a base for her first glimpse of civilization since waking up.

A house. Its windows glowing yellow orange, the lights inside were on. He best bet to contacting someone from Beacon or Vale was in that house.

Her friends had still been there, fighting the surge of Grimm back at Vale. She needed to know what happened after she'd been knocked unconscious. Or had she been killed and somehow brought back? Regardless, she needed to let them know that, despite the odds, she was okay.

Eventually the trees cleared and she was left at the edge of what looked like a small family farm with what looked to be cabbages and carrots filling the small fields. Some plots were left barren, perhaps waiting for other produce to be planted when the weather warmed. The house she'd spotted sat atop a twenty-foot cliff overlooking the farm.

At this distance she could see the house clearly enough, the light radiating from the windows revealing details she might otherwise not have seen in the dark. It had a circular shape with walls made of what looked like some form of concrete, being broken up only by small groups of windows and a line of wood paneling halfway up. The roof was made of what looked like more wooden panels affixed to a metal frame and was angled slightly towards her, probably so the rain wouldn't sit on top.

She still couldn't see anyone home however. Maybe the residents were still going through their morning routine and waking up? Pyrrha didn't feel it right to intrude on these people's personal lives, but at the same time she had little choice. She needed their help.

"Hello!" She tried to call out for help, hoping that someone inside would hear her calls and come to investigate. She waited for a response. When none came she called again, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Hello!" Again no response.

There was a flight of wooden stairs that hugged a steep slope as it snaked down from the right of the house to the farm plot. Maybe if she knocked on the front door she might have better success rousing the occupants?

She was careful to not trample on any of the plants as she made her way to the stairs. The wind blew over the clearing and causing Pyrrha to shudder against the cold. She made her way up the stairs, the wooden steps creaking under her weight with every step. This was old wood for sure.

Rounding the house to find an entrance, Pyrrha came to realise that the house wasn't circular, but curved around an outdoor space that seemed to be centered on a raised garden with a single tree and a collection of flowering plants contained inside of a concrete retaining wall. From Pyrrha's position she could see a smaller secondary building that held a peculiarly designed blue flatbed truck parked under an overhang. A garage maybe?

But she also noticed that the front door to the house, a sliding door apparently, was slightly open. That started setting alarms bells off in her head. Why would someone just leave their front door ajar like that if they were asleep? Not to mention that she still hadn't seen any form of movement from inside the house. Something didn't quite sit right with her.

"Hello?" She called out again. Again there was no response, just silence. "Hello?" She tried once more. "Is anyone here?" Again, nothing. That was extremely worrying. She pushed on, trying to make her way as silently as she could to the half open door and peering inside. "Excuse me?" She tried again to get some kind of reply.

She slid the door off to the side with relative ease, giving her enough space to enter the abode. It was nicely furnished, like someone's country home away from home, incorporating stone and woodwork with earthy tones. To the left of the entrance was a diner table with six chairs, as well as a sitting area built around a fire place inside of a sunken floor. To the right was a kitchen with four stools set on one side of the island. To the far left was a wall with a large screen built into it and a hallway which led off to the rest of the house.

Only thing was that the inside had looked torn apart. The dining table had been flipped on its side, the cushions in the seating area had been torn up and the screen on the wall had been smashed. The whole inside smelled of something burning, which caused her to notice the localised scorch marks on parts of the walls.

That said nothing of the pair of legs sticking out from behind the kitchen island. Whoever it was had fallen facing away from her and lying on their side.

 _Oh God no._

Pyrrha had to tell herself to calm down, now noting that she could smell the scent of burnt flesh. She moved into the home, leaning on the wall for support as she made her way to the body on the floor. She found a young woman, around her mid-thirties, who was lying partially on top of an infant child.

Her back had been charred so badly that Pyrrha could see the bones of her spine in some places jutting out. The woman's eyes were locked lifelessly on the child that now had its face burned off by the same weapon.

A mother and her child were lying murdered on the floor of their own home.

Who would have done something like this? White Fang maybe? Was it a random act of violence?

She moved past the bodies towards the hallway in the back. She needed to see if there were any survivors, someone who could tell her what had happened here. Honestly however, she didn't have high hopes as much as it pained her to say so. If the main room was anything to go by, whoever had come through here had been thorough.

There were two doors on the right side of the hall, the first one leading to what looked like the child's bedroom. It would likely have been a girl's room considering the amount of pink painted onto the wall. A quick scan of the room was enough for her to confirm that there was no one else in the room besides her. No bodies to speak of either.

The second room was likely the parent's room considering the lone queen sized bed and lack of bright colors on the walls. There was also the third member of the family lying partially propped up against the wall under one of the windows opposite from where Pyrrha stood in the doorway. He was around the same age of the woman in the kitchen and had been hit with two blasts from the same weapon, scorching his right shoulder and the middle of his stomach.

A large handgun lay to his side, fingers wrapped loosely around the trigger, two spent bullet casings sat near his feet. He'd managed to get a couple shots off at whoever had attacked them before being killed.

She couldn't help but begin eyeing the handgun on the floor. It was huge, looking about two sizes too large for the hand that gripped it. It look less like a pistol and more like a hand-cannon to her. After all, when you know a girl who has a sniper rifle built into a scythe you're not really surprised by strange and unusual weapons.

Pyrrha froze. There was a thump outside the house, followed by a series of throaty chattering like the calls of some large bird. Grimm? Maybe, she wasn't sure what kind it could be though. The chattering sounded like it was coming from two individuals at least, and they were getting closer.

Pyrrha was unarmed and in an enclosed space, not the best situation to be fighting Grimm in.

Luckily she could address one of those issues right off the bat. She dropped to her knees, not wanting to be seen through the window and have whatever Grimm it was come crashing through to attack her. crawled across the floor to the dead man, grabbing his handgun and then sideling up next to the wall.

There was another thump, this time coming from the kitchen as the chattering continued. They were inside the house. She could hear the floorboards creaking as the Grimm paced about the main room, like they were searching for something.

 _They know I'm here._

One set of footsteps began to make its way towards the hallway outside, and Pyrrha could hear her heartbeat thudding in her ears. She felt her nerves betraying her, the memories of Beacon scant hours moments ago coming back to haunt her. Had the attack reached the outskirts of Vale? _But then what about the sky?_

A three-toed clawed foot appeared in the doorway and she tightened her grip on the handgun as a strange bird like creature stepped into view. At first glance in the rather dim lighting of the hallway the creature _appeared_ to be a Grimm. But simply put, it wasn't a Grimm.

It had a short beak on a wide head, two yellow eyes flicking over the hallway. A mane of coarse black feathers sprouted from the back of its head, matching the black armor the covered its wiry body. Two clawed hands gripped at some sort of purple rifle with a collection of pink crystals sprouting above and to the front of the trigger. It looked like some sort of mutant bird, and Pyrrha had no idea if it was friendly.

It probably wasn't.

Pyrrha opened fire as its head turned towards her. It let out a gurgling shriek as three shots found their mark in its body. The pistol had a hell of a kick to it and Pyrrha cursed her lack of experience handling pistols when the fourth shot went wide, cracking the window as the bullet hit home.

The creature, bleeding from the assault raised its weapon, levelling it at her and pulled the trigger as she pushed off from the wall. Pyrrha dove behind the bed as three rounds slammed into where she'd been moments before. She stuck the pistol under the bed and unloaded a shot into the creature's foot. It let out a croak as it sank to one knee.

She could see its head. She fired.

It slumped to the ground as the bullet tore through its skull, just in time for its friend to come bursting into view. This one held a smaller purple weapon in one hand, two small glowing green prongs extending from the front.

The second creature, its eyes sharp, sighted Pyrrha as she scrambled back to her feet. It pointed the weapon at her before a bolt of green energy lanced out at her. She ducked the shot and aimed the pistol at the second creature. One shot fired and hit the creature in the stomach.

Click.

Pyrrha's heart lurched. The gun was empty. She had no extra mags for it.

Thinking quickly she hurled the pistol at the creature, boosting her throw with her semblance. The weapon hit it square in the beak, the shock of getting hit in the head by a pistol causing it to stumble backward. Pyrrha leapt over the bed, landing in a roll on the floor. Coming out of the roll she immediately shoulder checked the creature into the broken window.

Even though it was bigger than she was, but it was also lighter than she expected when she slammed into it. The creature backpedaled, trying to keep its footing even as Pyrrha smashed it through the glass of the broken window. Its legs hit the lip of the windowsill and it tumbled backwards and onto the grass outside.

Wasting no time, Pyrrha scooped its friend's rifle off the floor and opened up on the collapsed creature outside. Three pink crystals hit it in the chest as it tried to scramble to its feet. Its body erupted into a pink explosion that would have made Nora proud.

Pyrrha ducked at the sudden blast, hunkering down below the lip of the window, noticing the other dead creature lying in the doorway mere inches from where she sat. _Wait, what if these things explode after death?_ She didn't know what these things were admittedly, but she figured that since the one she was staring at hadn't decided to do an impression of Magnhild's ammunition she was probably in the clear.

She looked over the bit of wall she used for cover and found the creature lying dead on its back, chest ripped open by the sudden explosion. Violet colored blood was spattered all over the surrounding grass as a pool expanded from the corpse. It wasn't going to be getting up soon that was for sure.

She turned her attention back to the crystals sticking out of the weapon in her hands. _Are these Dust crystals?_ I would explain how they'd made that beast's insides its outsides. But who would be insane enough to actually fire whole Dust crystals at someone? Dust was a propellant in most cases, different types giving different effects to the rounds fired. Fire Dust would coat a bullet in flames for example.

She looked to the creature lying dead on the floor next to her. _Well they're crazy enough to try it at least._ She looked back at the weapon. While she was squeamish about handling a weapon with a potentially volatile substance exposed, she had no other weapons to speak of admittedly. Well actually there was that energy weapon lying on the grass outside.

She vaulted over the lip of the shattered window, her aura keeping the glass from digging into her hand. When her bare feet touched the ground she immediately missed her boots. Now she was going to have to deal with bloody toes. _I am definitely going to need a shower after this._

She bent down and picked up the small weapon off the ground. It was definitely some kind of pistol, a C-shaped assembly with two glowing nodes set ahead of a grip and trigger mechanism. _How to you load this thing?_ She could see no release lever nor a safety switch. That meant she had a finite pool of ammo for this thing, and it was always armed. _Because that speaks volumes of how much these things value weapon safety_. Coming from a Huntress, that was saying something.

Then she realized she had no idea how to reload the rifle either, and even if she did she had no replacement mags. So in other words she was already running on empty, great. She wiped off the pistol and placed it on her hip, hooking it under the red sash tied to her waist.

First order of business, find a way to contact Beacon.

Second, figure out where she was and what was going on.

The four-time Mistral champion had worked with less to go on. She could handle this.

Pyrrha stole one last look at the house, its murdered occupants still lying inside. She momentarily considered burying them but she decided against it. She had no idea how many of those creatures were out here, and she needed to contact Beacon. She could come back and pay proper respects later.

She sighed. "I'm sorry, I wish I could have stopped this. Forgive me."

She shouldered her new rifle and set off.

* * *

 _Welp I'm giving this a go!_

 _Go ahead and say that I'm in denial about Season 3. Because I am. Season 3 didn't happen nope mmmm nah. No, it doesn't matter that Season 4 started already and basically confirmed that Pyrrha isn't coming back nope._

 _But in all seriousness, I kind of had this idea for a while since Season 3 ended, don't know_ how _it came about but I'm willing to give it a go and see where it ends up._

 _Anywho, let me know what you guys think of this, I would appreciate the feedback going forward._


	2. Three Charlie

_The Following is a fan written story._

 _RWBY and its properties are owned by Rooster Teeth._

 _Halo and its properties are owned by Bungie, 343 Industries and Microsoft Corporation_

 _Please support the official release._

* * *

 **Visegrad Relay | 3hrs Later**

Four Pelican Dropships flew lazily in formation over the hills near Visegrad, each loaded with UNSC Army Troopers. The Formation dipped and dove between mountainous peaks, using narutal cliffs and canyons to mask their approach from any would-be attackers. Nearing their target, the Pelicans broke formation, each splitting off to head to its assigned drop zone.

One such Pelican was Echo 1-2, loaded up with eight Army Troopers it weaved towards its intended target area. Inside the cargo bay the Troopers of Fireteam 3 Charlie ran through their pre-mission checks. Corporal Ryan Travis methodically checked his MA37 assault rifle, more of a formality than out o a requirement really. Misriah Armory weapons had a reputation of being extremely rugged and low-maintenance. It'd take a direct shotgun blast to cripple the weapon. A few bumps and bruises weren't going to affect it, no sir.

"Time to target, 10 seconds." The pilot called over the intercom as the Pelican banked sharply to the left. Immediately afterward their fireteam leader jumped up from his seat and made his way to the back of the Pelican, grasping at handholds with his free hand as he held his weapon at the ready with the other.

"Alright Troopers, offa your arses! We got a job to do!" Sergeant First Class Trevor MacDonnel bellowed in a thick Scottish brogue as he turned to address his troops. "A bunch'a Innies thought they could blind us without us noticin'. Now it's time to show them how wrong they are! You all know your objectives, so let's keep it focused and get this done quick. The faster we get to base the faster I buy the first round!"

A chorus of 'Yes Sir's' met the Sergeant's pre-mission speech as the Pelican settled over the ground. That was their mission. A few hours earlier Visegrad's Communications Relay had gone dark. There was no communication with any of the facilities personnel and no communications between any of the planet's northern communities. Worst of all, there were no more communications off-world. Reach was effectively cut off from the rest of UNSC space.

ONI had quickly determined that Insurrectionists attached to the local People's Occupation were likely responsible for sabotaging the Relay, likely as a precursor to a larger operation. As such 3 Charlie and three other Trooper Fireteams had been sent in to investigate, neutralize any threats to the facility's operation, and finally bring the Relay back online.

The Sergeant slammed his fist onto the door release button and the rear of the dropship opened, revealing the lights of the early morning dawn on the horizon beyond the mountains. Travis followed his fellow Troopers out of the dropship and his boots touched down on sparse grasses.

Taking stock, they'd landed on a small cliff-side clearing overlooking a tiny settlement of maybe three houses. A small farm field stood off between 3 Charlie and the collection of buildings, but with the dim light Travis couldn't make out what was growing in it. The lights were off in the houses, which to Travis meant one of three things. A) Nobody was home, B) They were still asleep, or C) the Insurrectionists in those houses were trying to lead the Troopers into a trap.

Good fucking luck with that.

"Alright Troopers, into the field, let's check out that structure." MacDonnel ordered through the fireteam's helmet comm. Travis peered ahead, and sure enough there was a structure hanging out in the dark tucked up against a rock formation. Looked like a garage or storehouse from here. Also looked like a good position for Innies to camp out in, but that was just Travis' opinion.

"3 Charlie 4 reporting. Structure looks clear, Sarge." Specialist Franklin Mendoza reported in from his position next to a large boulder, DMR scanning between windows and other openings in the building.

"Roger that Four. Six, Seven, you two get in that structure and sweep for contacts. We'll go in right behind you." MacDonnel ordered, motioning the two Troopers forward. Travis braced his rifle and moved forward alongside 3 Charlie 7, Specialist Bianca Locklear. Locklear held her shotgun at the ready, sweeping back and forth along the buildings length as she closed the distance.

Travis held back slightly, falling in step behind her. She was 3 Charlie's breaching and CQC specialist, he was just her backup in case things went south. They both entered the building through the nearest opening. Inside Travis confirmed that this was indeed a storehouse, containers were stacked up against walls leaving plenty of space for the two forklifts and the equipment to maintain them.

Travis activated reached back with his free hand, fishing around his pack for the small handheld ARGUS system. Those containers looked harmless enough, but Innies were notorious for sticking bombs in places you wouldn't think to look. Finally finding the piece of kit he was looking for, he held it up in front and began scanning the containers and forklifts for any sign of explosive as he followed Locklear. "Check for explosives." He warned, keeping his voice low

She glanced quickly over her shoulder at him. "You're the one with the ARGUS, not me." She replied quickly in similarly hushed tones. "You find something let me know."

"Nothing yet." He replied, continuing to follow just a few paces behind.

"I said let me know if you _find_ something."

He smirked. "Well aren't we a bit touchy today?"

She scoffed before completely ignoring his comment. "3 Charlie 7 reporting, building is clear of hostiles."

"3 Charlie 6 confirms, nothing suspicious in here Sergeant." He stated as the two made their way back to the door way.

"Copy that. Alright 3 Charlie, let's move in. We meet in that clearing. Four stay on overwatch, look for hostiles." MacDonnel ordered, referring to the clear area in front of the building. Travis and Locklear left the cover of the structure as the rest of 3 Charlie arrived. "Alright team, we got a settlement filled with unknowns between us and our objective and I want to figure out if these are civvies or hostiles."

"So what Sarge? Knock on doors and see what we've got?" Travis asked.

"Essentially, yes." MacDonnel confirmed. "Six and Seven, you're on me, we're gonna head for the closest house. The rest of you take up support positions in case things go south." There was a small chorus of 'copy that' before the team broke up.

Travis and Locklear each fell in step next to their CO as they made their way to the nearest house. They reached the back door of the house and MacDonnel stepped forward, pounding on the door with a clsed fist. "UNSC Army, Open up!" He bellowed before knocking on the door again.

On his third round of knocking, a light came on inside as the occupants finally woke up. "Alright! I am coming!" A woman hollered from inside in broken English. MacDonnel stepped back from the door as the Troopers heard footsteps approaching the door.

The door slid open to reveal a woman dressed in an orange t-shirt and black short shorts. She wasn't armed, thankfully, and just looked miffed about having her sleep disturbed this early in the morning. To her credit she didn't seem all that surprised or worried that there were three heavily armed soldiers standing on her back porch.

"Good morning ma'am, sorry to disturb you but we're here for a routine search. We need to enter the premises." MacDonnel stated to her, motioning inside her house. The 'routine search' was a lie of course, but the last thing they need was her being a potential informant for the Insurrection. She and the others inside the house may not be combatants, but that didn't necessarily make them loyal to the UNSC.

"Yes, yes, of course." She responded with a stiff nod, standing off to the side to allow. Her demeanor had soured by the time Travis stepped through the doorway. He gave her a smile that he hoped had said: "We'll be out of your way soon."

Inside the house was a main room with a fire pit and a sitting area off to the left, towards the back was a closed door and to the right was the kitchen. A narrow stairway led to the second level with a man standing halfway down the steps wearing only a pair of boxer shorts. " _Mit Akarnak?_ " The man asked the woman.

" _Azért jöttek, hogy keressen minket._ " She replied as Travis paused, trying to understand what they were saying. "… _Megint._ " She added turning to the Troopers as MacDonnel and Locklear started visually inspecting the home. Travis had to take a second to realise that both occupants were speaking Hungarian, as most residents of the Viery Territory on Reach did.

And of course there were no interpreters assigned to any fireteam in case whoever they ran into didn't speak English. Fantastic friggin' plan.

Travis made his way to the back of the room, heading for the closed door at the back of the room. "Wait!" The man suddenly shouted, moving to stand next to Travis in front of the door. "Our daughter is in there. Let me go in first. He'll get scared."

While it seemed like a reasonable request it _did_ go against search protocol. "I'm afraid not sir. I have to go in first. I'm just following protocol. You can come in behind me to calm her down though." Travis stated with a shrug. He slid the door to the side, revealing room of a little girl, the bed sitting front and center in the middle of the room.

She was up, cowering in behind the sheets as Travis stepped into the room. Her father pushed past heading over to the bed. He spoke calmly to his daughter, trying to calm her down as he scooped her up his arms and carried her out of the room. She didn't look any older than six.

As Travis began his inspection of the room, Mendoza, still on over watch, chose this moment to pipe in on the comm. "Sarge, I'm seeing movement out here among the hills."

"Who is it?" MacDonnel asked.

"No idea. It's too dark to make out any features. I can tell that they're getting closer though." Mendoza replied. "I think they know that we're here."

"Alright, keep me posted." MacDonnel stated over the comm as Travis continued his search of the girl's room. His ARGUS was out; nothing was scanning as an explosive in here and there was nothing that looked like any kind of weapon. Well unless you wanted to improvise her coloring pencils as a dagger or something, but that was a bit of a stretch.

He went back to the main room where MacDonnel was standing idly, monitoring the comm. The family was sitting huddled together in the seating area, both parents coddling their daughter as she played with a doll. MacDonnel turned to him as he re-entered the room. "Locklear's outside."

Travis nodded and headed to the back door, moving past the family as he stepped outside. Off to the left he found Locklear kneeling behind a tree, shotgun at the ready as she scanned the approach to the house. "You see anything?" He asked as he knelt next to her, bringing his assault rifle up.

"Nothing yet. Four hasn't reported in with anything yet." She replied, not taking her eyes of the approach. Following her gaze, Travis could barely make out the silhouettes of his fellow Troopers in cover further out in the small field.

"Mendoza, you got anything?" Travis radioed in.

"Mmmm…nothing yet, just flickers of movement. Whoever's sneaking around out there is quick on their feet." 3 Charlie Four replied, his voice steady as he kept his focus on figuring out what was moving at them. "Wait a sec-."

"Contact! Contact!" One of the Troopers called out frantically. At that moment, all hell broke loose as the five Troopers opened up on whatever was attacking them. The rapid thundering of assault rifles was met by raining globs of blue and green that splashed against the ground, every impact scorching the dirt and grass.

"My god…" He gasped as he realised what was shooting back at them. He'd never seen them before but he'd heard the stories.

"Two's been hit!" A Trooper called out.

"3 Charlie fall back!" MacDonnel hollered through the comm, running out of the house and taking up a firing position behind a rock. "Fall back to the house! Locklear get inside and get the civvies out through the front!"

Locklear took off back into the house. Travis took a deep breath as he saw four troopers moving in a fighting retreat towards them. The enemy was flitting in and out between the rocks and he couldn't line up a clear shot, couldn't see what he was shooting at. He just shot at whatever wasn't a Trooper. His assault rifle kicked in his hands. He kept it steady aiming as best as he could at the fleeting shapes of the creatures skittering through the shadows.

The rest of 3 Charlie arrived at their position, taking cover behind rocks or trees or whatever they could find. Travis had to duck back behind the tree when green globs began to sail towards his position. He heard the tree's bark sizzle as the bolts hit home. The smell of ozone began to wash over the fireteam as the salvos of superheated plasma burned the very air around them. Travis stuck his head out and blind fired at the last place he saw the enemy firing at him.

As he ducked back into cover a sharp cry cut in over the din of battle. Travis snapped to the source of the noise and found Sergeant MacDonnel lying on his back, clutching at a purple spike embedded in his shoulder. Another Trooper, 3 Charlie 3 was busy trying to drag him back along the back porch towards the house.

"Fall back! Fall back!" Three called out as he and two other troopers tried to drag their CO around the side of the house, bypassing the back door as the entrance was exposed. Travis and Mendoza were the only two troopers left holding the line.

"Come on man we need to move!" Mendoza hollered at him. Travis nodded back at him before peeking around the tree. He spotted something that made his heart sink. A small squat creature waddled forward, over its shoulder was a golden yellow weapon almost as big as it was. There was a thump as the weapon discharged huge glob of green plasma.

"Shit! GET DOWN!" Travis hollered, hitting the dirt as the blob streaked over his and Mendoza's heads and heading straight for the other marines. One smartly dodge _towards_ the plasma ball, hitting the dirt just as it sailed past him. It detonated at the feet of the final three Troopers, including MacDonnel. The whole balcony cracked and fell away down the cliff.

"Move your ass Travis!" Mendoza yelled, picking him up by the shoulder. The two Troopers bolted for the back door, clearing the opening just as they heard another thump from the alien weapon. Inside the house they found Locklear bolting towards them. Travis didn't think, he just acted.

He tackled Locklear to the ground just as the back of the house erupted.

There were no words exchanged when the three Troopers picked themselves up and bolted out of the house and into the common area. They stopped behind a concrete barrier to catch their breath, they could hear the chatter of the enemy over the sounds of a roaring fire. The house they'd just left was blazing, for the time being keeping the Troopers safe.

"What the hell was that?!" Locklear shouted, looking suitably freaked out.

"Covenant!" Mendoza shouted back.

"What?!"

"You heard me!"

"We need to get word out! Warn command about what's going on!" Travis cut in.

"No shit! We need to fall back and radio this in!" Mendoza hollered. "Come on we don't have much more time before the Covies come after us!" The three of them pushed off from the wall and took off across a small polycrete bridge and up the hill towards another building.

As they ran, Travis started trying to raise the other fireteams in the area but received no response. He tried again but just got more of the same dead air as the three Troopers moved through the building and into another courtyard. They kept moving into the storage warehouse on the other side as the radio stayed dead.

For now, the three surviving members of 3 Charlie were on their own.

* * *

 _What's this? The author ISN'T introducing Noble Team? Heresy!_

 _In all seriousness though there is a reason, but just bear with me a little bit here._

 _Next chapter is being written as we speak, so don't worry! This train ain't stopping anytime soon!_

 _That being said, I would like to know what you guys think of the story so far. Is there room for improvement and where? That sort of thing._

 _Take care folks and have an awesome day!_


	3. Foreign Intervention

_The Following is a fan written story._

 _RWBY and its properties are owned by Rooster Teeth._

 _Halo and its properties are owned by Bungie, 343 Industries and Microsoft Corporation_

 _Please support the official release._

* * *

Pyrrha's feet ached.

She had no idea how long she'd been going. Moving from small settlement to small settlement, isolate house to house and actively avoiding patrols from those creatures. Yes, patrols. And there was more than one type of them. She'd seen the bird-like creatures leading a pack of smaller squat beings that chattered and barked in high pitched voices as they breathed from some kind of tank strapped to their backs.

So at the very least these things seemed intelligent considering they had a basic understanding of how formation fighting worked.

Now normally her training as a Huntress would dictate that she engage these creatures, lest they hurt anyone else. Two things stopped her from pursuing that thought process. One, she had absolutely no idea how the weapons she had worked.

Oh, sure they still operated under the tried and true "point the business end at the bad guys and pull the trigger to drop 'em" method, but she still had absolutely no idea how to reload them or, in the case of the pistol, what ammunition they took. Even then she had no real way to reload them as she couldn't find the toggles to eject a magazine and had no such magazines to actually reload them even if she knew where they were. She effectively had limited ammo and wanted to preserve it as best as she could.

And two, she was pretty certain that most of the homes in the areas patrolled by these being were devoid of living people. Either they'd managed to flee or, judging by the bodies she'd come across, gunned down before they realized what was going on.

So now Pyrrha was in self-preservation mode until she could reconnect with Beacon or…somebody, and figure out what the hell was going on with these creatures. Why were they attacking people out of nowhere? How did they get weapons like these? Ruby would've gone into an excitement induced coma if she'd gotten to hold the pistol now strapped to Pyrrha's waist.

And then there was the big glaring one; _where were the Grimm?_ With all this going on there should be swarms of them taking the fight to the creatures by now! Had all the humans been killed so quickly that there hadn't been enough time for the Grimm to notice their emotions? Even then why weren't they following the emotions of the creatures? Were the Grimm just unable to sense the emotions of these beings?

It was certainly possible, if a little bit unbelievable.

Pyrrha shelved her thoughts as she prepared to move. Crouching inside of a building that she was almost certain was some kind of garage, she waited for a pack of the smaller creatures to waddle past. The sun was coming up, and it was going to get a lot harder to keep herself hidden from these beings. Maybe she should look into getting her hair dyed when she got back if for no other reason than to blend in.

The pack left her line of sight and she poked her head out of the door to check for potential threats. It looked clear and she eased her way out in the open, rifle up and ready to engage anything that might get the drop on her. Setting off down the dirt road in the opposite direction from the pack, her eyes momentarily landed on her current goal.

A massive gray colored dish peeked out from behind a hill, red warning lights flashing in predictable intervals. She had no idea what actual purpose the dish served, but she was certain she might be able to get some kind of communication equipment that she could use to get a message out. Even better the thing could very well be a communication hub itself!*

Her foot caught the edge of a rock, its edge cutting painfully into the sole of her foot. Pyrrha stumbled, hissing through clenched teeth. Catching herself, she pulled her foot up to check it. She wasn't injured but the fact that she felt that made her again long for a pair of shoes. Any pair of shoes.

Maybe it would be a good time to take a breather and get some rest. After all that facility wasn't going anywhere, she'd just need to find someplace where she would be safe to bunker down for a while.

She headed to the right of the road and up a small hill, moving into the trees of a tiny wooded area. She'd noticed most of the patrols staying around the buildings of the area, and so she thought it best to say in the woods to rest rather than risk discovery in some dead person's house.

After a short walk through the bush she found a tree that had a lot of low-hanging branches. It would be good for a temporary shelter. Pyrrha pushed some of the branches aside and sat up against the trunk of the tree, letting the branches fall back into place and provide her with cover. She let the rifle fall against her shoulder, careful to keep the needle-like crystals from digging into her skin.

It was cooler here under the shade of the tree and she had to suppress a shiver. It was already cold up in the mountains and being in the shade certainly didn't help. She'd have to endure it for now, but eventually she'd be back to civilization and to somewhere warm. A pair of pants or a jacket would be nice too, actually.

 _I wonder how everyone's doing?_ Beacon had been hit hard and likely there had been a lot of people hurt. At least Jaune would be safe for a while inside that locker she'd shoved him in. She was sure that he'd be okay at the end of it. What she wasn't sure about was if he'd ever forgive her for that though. She _had_ also embedded him into a pillar using her semblance once already. Some girlfriend material she turned out to be.

She was worried for Ren and Nora though, admittedly she'd lost contact with them and had no idea if they'd been in trouble and if they were okay. At the very least she knew they were good fighters and partners. They'd have each other's backs in a pinch.

What about team RWBY? _Oh god, Ruby._ Pyrrha could remember the look on Ruby's face when she'd shown up. The poor girl was so innocent, she's probably bawling her eyes out right now. Pyrrha was likely going to be the victim of a spine crushing hug from the little rose when she got back to beacon.

She'd likely have to apologise to the poor girl for scaring her like that. And to Jaune for shoving him in a locker and taking that woman on alone.

A series of sharp cracks jolted Pyrrha from her thoughts.

Gunfire, automatic weapons it sounded like. They were far off it sounded like, and there was more than one. Humans? Faunus? Those creatures? She had no idea, but whoever or whatever it was they were fighting something.

She picked up the rifle and pushed out of her hiding spot. Her break would have to wait. She needed to know if the people under attack were friendly. Maybe she wouldn't have to walk all the way to the massive dish after all. Hopefully she wouldn't be too late to help.

* * *

"We've got incoming!" Mendoza shouted from his position on the second floor of the house.

"I see them! Jackals supported by Grunts coming down the road!" Locklear called out, bunkering down behind a rock on the right side of the front door. Her shotgun was primed and ready but the enemy was too far away for her to make any use of it. However, the corpses of two jackals and quite a few grunts could attest to how lethal she could be when she could break out the boomstick.

Meanwhile, Travis was panicking slightly inside the house. He couldn't raise Command on his radio, or any of the other fireteams for that matter. 3 Charlie was effectively cut off and on their own.

Against the Covenant…

On Reach…

Where they were essentially pinned inside of a house under waves of attacks…

"I can't raise anyone on comms!" Travis called out to the other two members of the fireteam, running to take cover below the lip of a blown-out window.

"Just our luck!" Locklear called back. "Covies are on Reach and we can't even warn anyone!"

"Might be best to worry about that _after_ we kill these freaks!" Mendoza reminded them before the sharp report of his DMR sounded out of the second-floor window. The Covenant had definitely come within range of the team's marksman.

"Agreed." Travis stated as he sighted up the formation of Covenant. Skirmishers darted ahead of the group, flitting in and out between cover. Travis could spot three of them among the group. Behind them were four shield-toting Jackals, backed up by a contingent of somewhere between twenty and thirty Grunts.

This pack was the biggest one yet by far. Three marines versus over ten times that many Covenant, not great odds. Well, upstairs Mendoza was trying to even those odds.

Looking through the scope on the top of his DMR gave him a much better look at the opposition and for the most part he could figure that the numbers they faced were just that…numbers. These Covenant didn't look like they were outfitted or structured to make efficient use of those numbers.

While he'd never seen Covenant in person, Mendoza and the rest of the Army Troopers in service had been given a crash course in identifying the Covenant's rank structure and how it applied to the different races that composed the alien hegemony. Specifically, what markers to look for that denoted different ranks.

Every single one of these guys was part of the rank-and-file, no advanced decision makers present. Furthermore, none of the aliens present had any sort of long range engagement capacity, entirely lacking any form of marksman weapon. Essentially their weaponry was limited to plasma pistols and needlers.

That being said however, they still had the sheer numbers advantage over the Troopers. "Locklear, fall back into the house." Mendoza advised over the TEAMCOM. "You're not gonna want to be out there when the fight starts in full."

"Seven copies, moving back into the house." Locklear reported as she broke cover and darted back into the abandoned house, swinging around to crouch down on the left side of the front door. Travis had the only window on the first floor, or at least the only one facing the enemy. She'd take the door, making sure the Covies didn't breach the house. Made more sense to give Travis the window anyway, he had more reach with that assault rifle anyway.

Now, let it be said that 3 Charlie was not a squad of pushovers. They were operating under Special Warfare Group 3 of the UNSC Army Corps. They took the dirty jobs that were too tough for the regular Trooper squads to touch. They were among the best in the Army, and many of their veterans had found new postings in the ODSTs.

But now being down to less than half of their number, out of contact with Command, and facing down a squad of Covenant that outnumbered them twelve to one was not the most ideal situations for any fireteam. Still they had their mission, survive long enough to warm command of the Covenant Threat to initiate Winter Contingency. Simple as that.

It was with that thought in mind that Travis and Mendoza opened up in earnest. The fight had begun.

* * *

Pyrrha raced towards the sounds of gunfire coming from below her on the slope of the mountain. Well 'raced' may not exactly be the right word. More like 'darted quickly between cover'. She kept her eyes open for any potential enemies. She may not be a full-fledged Huntress yet, but that didn't mean she wasn't careful.

She could here more weapons now, firing over the sound of high pitched and panicked cries. Those smaller tank-wearing creatures were in the battle, and from the sounds of it there was a lot of them.

She found herself on the edge of a small but steep hill in relatively short order. There it was, the battle raging down below. She could see people trapped in a building off to her left, they were firing from cover at an approaching mass of creatures. The vast majority of the attacking force was comprised of the smaller waddlers, but were supported by two kinds of bird creatures. One was the type she'd encountered in that house. The second lacked feathers and took cover behind bright blue glowing shields that reminded her very much of her shield Akouo in design.

So far it looked like the creatures weren't making much headway in the fight. Many of the smaller ones lay dead in a rapidly expanding pool of blue blood. It was starting to swing in their favor as the sheer volume of fire the group was pouring into the building was keeping the defenders in cover and unable to shoot back.

Time to even the odds a little. Pyrrha braced the strange rifle against her shoulder and tried to sight up one of the creatures. Two problems presented themselves. One, this thing didn't have any gunsights. Two, there was this big block of material in the middle of the gun that it even harder to accurately aim this thing.

 _What's the point of a rifle if you can't aim it properly?_

Not that she had much option. She took 'aim' at one of the feathery creatures skulking around one of the boulders closer to Pyrrha's position. She wouldn't have to be too precise at this distance, still it would be nicer to have some way to aim he weapon properly so she wouldn't waste ammo.

She pulled the trigger and let the pink crystal fly. The creature was caught in the shoulder before a second one punched into its chest. Despite its spindly appearance, the creature was tough and it took another crystal from Pyrrha's rifle and subsequent explosion to put it down for good.

Pyrrha switched targets, this time focusing on the mass of waddlers who sprayed green globs and slow moving pink crystals as they advanced on the defenders. One went down with one lucky shot to the head and his friends stopped in their tracks, searching for who killed him. They had their answer when she rained fire down on them.

They squealed in panic and broke formation, some diving out of the way as others simply threw up their arms and fled back the way they came. Pyrrha kept firing as two more went down, but now with them scattered she ran the very real chance of missing her shots. Now she had another more pressing problem though. The two remaining feathered creatures had spotted her, and now they were charging up the hill as fast as their legs could carry them.

Which turned out was…pretty fast actually.

She fired at the closest one as it closed the distance, hoping to catch it before it got too close and managing to land a hit on its thigh. Upon squeezing off a second shot though the creature dove to the right. It rolled before coming up to a low crouch and aiming its weapon. Green globs of energy flew at her and she had to duck behind a nearby tree.

Just then his friend swung around racing at top speed as he too fired his weapon. And Pyrrha didn't have the cover of the tree. She ducked under the shots, levelling the rifle at the second bird creature and unloaded three shots at it. The first two missed but the third caught it in the leg, causing it to stumble.

Before she could finish it the first came at her again gun blazing green. She rolled out of the way, not willing to test how her aura would hold up against these weapons quite yet. Again she leveled the weapon at the creature but now the two were keeping each other covered. She couldn't get a shot off and was forced to dive for nearby cover.

Now Pyrrha was stuck crouching behind a nearby rock as the two creatures began pouring fire at her cover. She could feel the heat of the rock on her back and could smell the ozone as the air was superheated by every bolt sent downrange. She tried to peek out of cover but a bolt sailing passed her face made her reconsider that idea for a second.

 _Not fans of playing fair are they?_

She'd dealt with much worse odds than this before. She ducked back out of cover and opened up on the first thing she could set her sights on. Three rounds hit one of the creatures square in the chest and stomach, a split second later it was consumed by a pink explosion.

 _Nora would love this thing._

The second one didn't seem to take too kindly to its friend being turned into bacon bits and growled at Pyrrha as it opened fire. The Huntress dodged to the side and fired off two rounds, trying to get it in the head. One shot went wide but the other found its mark. Its head jerked up and to the side as the crystal lodged itself in its skull and the creature fell over dead.

She didn't pause to inspect her two kills, not when there was still a battle being fought down the hill. She double checked her current ammo on the rifle. If she was guessing this right, those six crystals sticking out of the top were the six shots she had left. Maybe firing wildly might not be the best idea.

Nearing the edge of the slope, Pyrrha looked down and saw a pack of about six of the waddlers trying to clamber up the slope towards her. The rest of their friends were still trying to get into the building being covered by the shielded creatures. Now that Pyrrha had thinned out the herd, and wow was that ever an accurate term to describe what she was doing, the defenders inside were finding greater opportunities to get shots off. They waddlers were being cut down without mercy down below.

Between that and the sight of the six sent after her trying to scrabble up the steep slope made her almost sorry for the little guys as she lined up a shot. Keyword here being "almost". That was heavily outweighed by the fact that they'd attacked innocents, slaughtered them in their homes. Families were killed in cold blood, and these creatures were the ones responsible. There was a proverbial bullet for each of them.

It was pathetically easy at this range for Pyrrha to put one of the lethal crystals into the skulls of the little beings, and they dropped like stones. Their little screams of shock and pain as they died only served to magnify how sad they were. At least one tried to put up a fight, as his arm cocked backward holding onto a glowing blue orb. Too bad he was throwing uphill, and that he wasn't possessing a good pitching arm. The orb hit the ground about halfway between him and Pyrrha as the Huntress dropped him.

The orb clung to the grasses, hissing as it did. It suddenly flared and the air was filled with a high-pitched whine. There was a sudden explosion as it detonated, revealing its intended purpose. That was a grenade just now.

Pyrrha blinked, trying to clear the stars from her vision. That thing was bright when it blew up. Down below the rest of the waddlers were finally running back to the safety of cover as they were cut down by the dual threat of what sounded like a machine gun and a semi-automatic. Only seven enemies left in total it looked like, and four of them were cowering behind their shields.

She was out of ammo in her rifle, and had no way to reload it. It was dead weight now. She tossed it aside and drew the strange pistol from her hip. Time to break the enemy's line. Pyrrha descended the hill, avoiding the scorched grasses left in the wake of the grenade's explosion. She only started firing when she reached the bottom, putting four globs into waddler cowering behind a nearby rock. It's flesh sizzled as the bolts hit home, its skin blackening a boiling away with every hit.

She vaulted over the rock as the creature fell over dead, firing the pistol one-handed at the shield-bearer on the other side. The shots splashed against the shield, which seemed to flare and change colors slightly. _Is that a good thing or a bad thing?_

Apparently bad as the creature turned its attention fully to Pyrrha and opened fire. Pyrrha was back over the rock in the span of a second to escape the hail of green bolts. She ducked around the rock to fire off more rounds at the creatures shield, again the bolts seemed to splash harmlessly against the shield.

Made her wish for Akouo right now.

* * *

Mendoza wasn't going to lie, a few minutes ago things were starting to look dicey. The Covies had them well and truly pinned by their superior numbers. It was really only a matter of time before they got in through the bottom floor, and after that the fight was going to get a hell of a lot worse.

That was until _somebody_ with a covie Needle Rifle started shooting at the Covenant outside, killing a Skirmisher and three Grunts, before the remaining two Skirmishers broke off with a pack of six Grunts to engage.

That much less enemy fire prove a blessing for 3 Charlie. Mendoza, Travis and Locklear had taken that moment to pour on the counterfire as the Grunts scrambled back for cover and regrouped. Mendoza had tried to take out on of the Jackals standing there with its big ugly shield. These ones were pretty crafty though as they would shift left and right to keep him from putting a shot on their exposed weapon hands.

The Grunts had regrouped and tried to mount another assault on their position, but with less fire coming in 3 Charlie had made quick work of them, Mendoza himself raking up a nice 5 kills before the Grunts had once again broken and run for cover.

It was a that point that their new friend decided to make themselves know. Or rather, _she_ did. Vaulting over a rock _right in the middle of the Covenant position_ with a plasma pistol blazing towards the shield of a Jackal. She was tall, that much Mendoza could tell from his position, and that she was most definitely barefoot, wearing a red skirt, a brown corset, and _was a civvie_!

"Well this is embarrassing." He muttered to himself before opening the TEAMCOM. "Civilian in the line of fire!"

"I see her!" Locklear called back. "We need to give her covering fire!"

Mendoza zeroed in on the Jackal that their redheaded friend was shooting back at, and a smirk slowly made its way onto his face. "Oh, I can do a lot better than that." He chuckled as he squeezed off a round. The Jackal suddenly found itself with a new hole in its weapon hand and it staggered from shock and surprise.

Its head poked out from behind the top of its shield.

Mendoza fired again.

The Jackal pitched over backward as the round ripped through its skull and out the other side.

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you headshot Jackals." He stated, pulling the toggle for the magazine release. He slammed a new mag home and resumed his overwatch duties. Namely, making the Covies' jobs a whole lot harder.

* * *

Pyrrha heard both shots from the defenders rifle and peeked around the corner to find the shield toting alien lying dead on the ground. _At least that one knows how to use his weapon._ She made to duck around the rock to resume her assault on the creatures' position when a she heard a zap from the right, which was quickly followed by the feeling of heat on her neck and the smell of burnt hair.

She whipped her head around and found another one of the shield carriers coming around a pile of crates nearby, blasting away with its weapon at her. She let off a few shots of her own at the shield before shifting quickly around the rock to avoid the incoming fire.

Well these guys are proving to be a bit problematic. _REALLY missing Akouo right about now!_

She tried to duck out of cover again but was met with a hail of fire which forced her to duck back. The volume of fire was not letting up and now she was pinned unless she wanted to pit her aura against those weapons.

Two more cracks of the rifle rang out and the shooting stopped. Again she peeked out behind the rock to find a dead creature lying not too far off. She looked back at the house and, from the second floor window, saw light glinting off of the scope of a rifle. _I'll have to remember to thank him later._

Now the other occupants of the building decided to take the fight to the enemy. Two soldiers wearing beige-brown rushed out of the house, one male and one female. The male soldier opened up with his assault rifle past Pyrrha's cover while the woman charged around another larger rock. Pyrrha heard two loud booms of a shotgun from the other side.

She broke cover as more gunfire joined in, she barely had time to close the distance between herself and the last two shield bearers before the sniper on the second floor decided to beat her to it. She saw one of them stagger as she weaved between fire, a bullet drawing purple blood from its hand. The creature's head poked out behind its shield and was met by another round that killed it outright.

She took aim at the second and sighted up the weapon poking out of a notch in the shield. The bolt slammed home and the creature screeched in pain, the top of its head poking out of the shield. Pyrrha fired off four shots into its head and it dropped amid the sound of sizzling flesh.

Pyrrha kept her weapon at the ready scanning for any enemies. She didn't want to start speaking to these soldiers and have one of them suddenly get shot in the face.

Although, maybe she didn't have to worry about any of the creatures shooting _her_ in the face…

* * *

Travis was not exactly liking the new arrival.

Oh, don't take it the wrong way, he was just as thankful for her showing up and diverting the Covenant's attention as much as the next Trooper. But see the problem was just how she'd done it.

 _Where in the hell had she learned how to fight like that?_ There was no way a regular human could dodge plasma fire like that. Hell, she was moving more like a Skirmisher out there than anything else.

His thoughts immediately went to the Spartans. He'd seen the enigmatic soldiers on declassified combat videos. The lightning quick moves and outright _suicidal_ tactics matched up all right, but Spartans were also huge hulking walking tanks with their faces covered by a golden visor. This… _girl_ , was not wearing anything remotely considered armor. It wasn't even a UNSC Battle Dress Uniform let alone whatever the fuck was that armor the Spartans wear.

And before anyone even _thinks_ of insinuating that a civilian with a death wish could pick a random weapon and do what she just did…yeah, no…that doesn't happen without us having one very dead civvie and a bunch of laughing Grunts.

So three questions were at the forefront of Travis' mind. Who was she, what was she, and where did she learn to fight like that.

"Mendoza, keep an eye on our new friend." He ordered through the TEAMCOM as he lowered his assault rifle.

"You thinkin' she's an Innie?" The Marksman said from the second floor.

"Maybe."

"With all due respect, how many Innies have you seen that dress like that?"

Not many, Travis had to admit. Still, he didn't want to take any chances against someone who had just gone toe-to-toe with a Covenant formation while looking like a redheaded target sign. Barefoot.

Still, not like he needed to be hostile about it. After all, she'd just saved his sorry ass.

* * *

Pyrrha heard someone clearing their throat behind her and turned to see one of the soldiers standing with his assault rifle held across his stomach a few paces away. With his beige colored helmet and visor over his eyes, she had a hard time figuring out the mans features. All she knew was that he looked young, maybe early twenties, had a strong jaw and the stubble of a beard beginning to appear on his face.

"Corporal Travis, UNSC Army." He introduced, motioning to himself with his free hand. "Y'know its not everyday we see someone willing to jump into the thick of an enemy formation, miss…?"

"Pyrrha Nikos." She answered as the woman with the shotgun came around to the right, holding her weapon in much the same fashion as Travis.

She was incredibly short, at least from Pyrrha's point of view. Barely reaching over five feet, but made up for it with a much more muscular stature, even under the body armor and heavy jacket. She could see the woman's eyes as the rest of her face was covered by a black balaclava under her helmet.

"Well then, Miss Nikos, I suppose you wouldn't mind telling me which unit you're attached to?" Travis asked, causing Pyrrha to quirk an eyebrow at him. "With combat skills like that I'd imagine it'd be something to do with Special Operations?"

"I'm sorry sir, but I'm not affiliated with any military." She answered truthfully.

"So, you're a civilian then?" Travis said, interrupting Pyrrha before she could continue. The woman, who's name Pyrrha still didn't know, tilted her head to one side.

"No, I'm a Huntress actually…well, Huntress-in-training."

There was very uncomfortable silence as the two soldiers scrutinized Pyrrha with the most genuine looks of confusion from what she could see of their faces. _Do they not know what a Huntress is?_

"Huntress hunh? Is that like a Mercenary group or something?" Travis asked, an eyebrow cocked in Pyrrha's direction.

"Uhm, no." And she though Jaune had been clueless on his first day at Beacon. Who could they not know what a Huntsman or Huntress was? "You…really don't know what a Huntress is?"

"Can't say that I do actually." Travis answered with a shrug of his shoulders. "Why don't you enlighten me?"

"As much as I'd hate to break up the game of twenty questions, I'd like to point out that we're basically standing out in the open here." The woman suddenly piped up. "Might be better to continue this little conversation somewhere else, just saying." She motioned towards the building they'd been holed up in earlier with her shotgun.

Travis nodded briskly. "Right, we can continue this inside." He agreed as the woman turned and lead the way back to their cover. "Miss Nikos?" Travis nodded towards the building. Pyrrha understood and began walking towards the house, Travis falling in step with her to her right.

Pyrrha glanced up at the second floor window she'd seen the sniper, finding him giving her a quick two-finger salute as she entered the building. It would've been nice inside had the place not been trashed, the remains of a torn-up couch attesting to that.

"So…" Travis began, stopping next to said couch. "About that explanation…?"

* * *

 _Well this took a lot longer than expected, and I apologise for that. But at the end of the day I wanted it done right._

 _If we're being honest though this chapter was originally going to be a lot longer, but then I thought about it as I went and decided that this would be a good place to end it. So long story short, this is effectively part one of what had been originally a much longer chapter._

 _That being said, I'd like to say thanks to those who are giving this story a chance. I'm not too confident in my writing skills and it means a lot that you're giving this story a go. I'm hoping that I can stay true to Pyrrha's character (might have to rewatch RWBY to get it fresh in my mind) and characterize the rest of 3 Charlie well enough (since they_ might _have something to do with the plot, maybe)._

 _I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter._

 _ACE AWAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY!_


End file.
